Bulova Hack (96A246) mini review
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:54 pm
I posted this watch in the WRUW thread and noted I was a little underwhelmed. Some people asked for details so here's a mini review.
First the specs:
The stock black strap is inexpensive but not what I would call cheap. It's very flexible and might wear quick, though. One quirk is that it's a 2-piece strap meant to look like a NATO. You can see it on the Bulova official pic.
The buckle side has an extra piece sewn on with a square keeper on the end. The non-buckle side threads through the keeper to make a NATO-like setup, even though they are each attached with spring bars like a standard two-piece strap.
The case is 38mm brushed stainless steel. The lugs are pretty long, as is normal on a watch of this style, so the lug-to-lug measures about 47mm. The brushing of the side of the lugs is vertical and is continued through the case. This makes for an interesting visual variance on the side of the case.
The push-pull crown is signed with the modern Bulova logo and is actually pretty big for a 38mm watch. It's easy to grab and turn.
The dial on this model is a nice yellowish cream color. It's not fake old radium lume color. Maybe it's meant to evoke a tropical dial, but in my mind it's own thing. One bonus to many here is there's no date complications, to the dial has a nice symmetry. This was probably the right move given the dial color and the fact that a matching date wheel in this price range is very rare.
The indices are painted on numbers with green lumed squares on the outside. I really like that there's no logo, just the painted-on Bulova branding that is an homage to the vintage U.S.-Made Bulovas. The cathedral hour and minute hands are lumed. The second hand has no lume at all.
The watch itself is good, but it suffers from a lack of refinement. But as I said you can get it for <$200 and frankly it's all stuff I knew or should have known about. First, is this dude is thick for a no-complication automatic watch -- 13.5mm plus double domed crystal.
Second, the setting/winding feel is quite grainy, even more so than other 82S0 watches I've had. However, I think I have only owned the older non-hacking version.
I also think the watch would look better on a 20mm strap, rather than 18mm. But that is personal preference.
Overall it's not a bad basic automatic watch. It's a step up from an SNK809. But a new Seiko 5 is a better value, especially since I the newly released field versions will soon be comparably priced. I would recommend this watch if you like the style and can get it for less than $200. However if you are going to pay at or near the $316 MSRP, there are better options.
First the specs:
- Stainless steel case
- 38mm diameter
- 13.45 thick
- Double domed mineral crystal
- Miyota 82S0
- 30M WR
- Ref. 96A246
The stock black strap is inexpensive but not what I would call cheap. It's very flexible and might wear quick, though. One quirk is that it's a 2-piece strap meant to look like a NATO. You can see it on the Bulova official pic.
The buckle side has an extra piece sewn on with a square keeper on the end. The non-buckle side threads through the keeper to make a NATO-like setup, even though they are each attached with spring bars like a standard two-piece strap.
The case is 38mm brushed stainless steel. The lugs are pretty long, as is normal on a watch of this style, so the lug-to-lug measures about 47mm. The brushing of the side of the lugs is vertical and is continued through the case. This makes for an interesting visual variance on the side of the case.
The push-pull crown is signed with the modern Bulova logo and is actually pretty big for a 38mm watch. It's easy to grab and turn.
The dial on this model is a nice yellowish cream color. It's not fake old radium lume color. Maybe it's meant to evoke a tropical dial, but in my mind it's own thing. One bonus to many here is there's no date complications, to the dial has a nice symmetry. This was probably the right move given the dial color and the fact that a matching date wheel in this price range is very rare.
The indices are painted on numbers with green lumed squares on the outside. I really like that there's no logo, just the painted-on Bulova branding that is an homage to the vintage U.S.-Made Bulovas. The cathedral hour and minute hands are lumed. The second hand has no lume at all.
The watch itself is good, but it suffers from a lack of refinement. But as I said you can get it for <$200 and frankly it's all stuff I knew or should have known about. First, is this dude is thick for a no-complication automatic watch -- 13.5mm plus double domed crystal.
Second, the setting/winding feel is quite grainy, even more so than other 82S0 watches I've had. However, I think I have only owned the older non-hacking version.
I also think the watch would look better on a 20mm strap, rather than 18mm. But that is personal preference.
Overall it's not a bad basic automatic watch. It's a step up from an SNK809. But a new Seiko 5 is a better value, especially since I the newly released field versions will soon be comparably priced. I would recommend this watch if you like the style and can get it for less than $200. However if you are going to pay at or near the $316 MSRP, there are better options.